Follow Us on Google
By Chinelo Obogo
Civil society organization Yiaga Africa has criticized the Senate for rejecting real-time electronic transmission of election results, calling the move a major setback for Nigeria’s electoral process.
Yiaga’s Executive Director, Samuel Itodo, said this during a Wednesday interview on Arise TV, where he accused the Senate of misrepresenting the recommendations of the technical committee that drafted amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act.
“I was part of the technical committee that was part of this entire process. What the House of Representatives passed was that electronic transmission will be part of this process. In fact, the report also mentioned the IReV. So I think that the Senate president is lying to Nigerians because that’s not what was provided in the report,” he said.
Itodo also warned that the Senate’s amendments introduce what he described as “draconian provisions” that could undermine preparations for the 2027 elections.
The changes, he said, reduces the window for party primaries to 90 days before elections and requiring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish candidate lists just 60 days before voting.
Other News
“The reason why the 2022 Electoral Act provides that 360 days issue notice, campaign conduct of primaries was to allow for logistics. When is INEC going to produce the ballot papers? We’re going to run into a lot of logistical challenges for the 2027 elections,” he explained.
The amendments also remove a provision requiring presiding officers to compare electronically transmitted results with manually collected ones, a safeguard Itodo said is essential for electoral integrity.
He questioned whether the Senate acted independently or under external influence, noting that some provisions in the final bill were not included in the original committee report. “What they have only done is to prioritize their own primordial and perhaps personal interest over and above public interest,” he said.
Under Nigeria’s legislative process, both chambers must form a conference committee to harmonize their positions. Itodo called on the House of Representatives, which he described as aligning with citizens’ demands, to ensure its version prevails in the final legislation.
“The House’s provision is what aligns with the will of Nigeria. What the Senate did is antithetical and at variance with what Nigerians want,” he said.
